| Where do you Find Inspiration? | |
Inspiration, like Elvis, is everywhere. Ideas for the most beautiful adornments can be found in
places where we would not expect to to find them, and different twists can come out of the most basic patterns and instructions. Some of my favorite
sources range from books and magazines to patterns in woven fabric, textures of rocks and the smell of new-mown grass. The colors of a beautiful cat's
fluffy coat have inspired me, as have music and poetry. Just about anything can be interpreted into beadwork, if you just look with, in the words of
the late Hunter S. Thompson, "the right kind of eyes".
Ancient beadwork has always been an inspiration to me to either re-create these time-travelers, or to reinterpret them with a more current twist.
Many of the current styles of collar type necklaces come from much more ancient beginnings.
Beautiful handmade beads, are, of course, an inspiration in themselves. These gorgeous things can be incorporated into seed bead stitch work, or
used as components with wrapped loops and chain. Other types of handmade beads are great, too, such as ones made from resin, polymer clay, precious
metal clay and regular metal.
Look to fashion magazines, too, for tons of inspiration. Many great ideas can be found between those glossy covers, and we get to keep up with
trends as well! I love to see what the fashion designers are doing with beads and crystals, because I know that I can re-style pieces I like and make
them myself. But don't limit yourself to fashion magazines. I have found great instructions for everything ranging from bead and wire rings to
Christmas ornaments in various home and garden type magazines.
A note about
ethics and copyright: if you use an original idea as it is, be careful of
copyright laws, and if you use an original and change it slightly, make sure you have permission from and give credit to the original designer, and
make sure you have proper permission to resell the item if you plan to do so. If you use an item as inspiration, but change it so much that it would
not be recognized as being based on the original, then credit and permission would usually not be necessary, but it is always nice to mention the
original artist as an inspiration.
With all that being said, how about the treasure trove of books out there? I know I'm guilty of purchasing books and using them to reference
instructions for stitches and techniques, but I know that they can also be places to find loads of inspiration. Look at the pictures and let your
creative mind run wild! Change colors around, use different types of stone beads, make different fringe. Have some fun with your designs !
Other place where inspiration can be found are only limited by your ability to see! Patterns on pottery and china have inspired me, as have cloud
formations, rain, the ocean, nature in general and life in particular! Look at colors and natural formations to see how they could be interpreted into
you next cool necklace.
Tragedy can inspire art, too, such as the cool "Earthquake Earrings" I saw, done by Phyllis Eagle Kalionzes and shown in the Summer 1998
edition of Beadwork magazine. After the January 17, 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles, she was inspired to create something from the wreckage of
her mother's antique crystal and china fragments. In doing so, she proved that devastation can have the power to inspire, and beauty can rise from it.
I hope it helped the author and her mother ease the hurt of the loss of such precious family heirlooms.
People have been using "found objects" as ornaments and inspiration since time out of mind. Look around your house, in magazines, in
nature, in a museum or your backyard for something that could be interpreted into a piece of beadwork jewelry. If you look closely, I bet you'll find
something you had not seen before!